Microsoft to Raise Xbox Live Subscription Fee, Says Pacther

[Tiko7523]

http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3176540

Michael Pachter, the internet's favorite gaming soothsayer, turned up on GameTrailer's Bonus Round once again this week. What did the Wedbush Morgan analyst see in his crystal ball this time around? Not only did he declare that Microsoft has given up on PC gaming, but he also predicted that the price of Xbox Live Gold subscriptions will be going up sometime in the future.
"It's a profit deal," Pachter claimed, responding to a fan question about the dearth of ports from Xbox 360 to PC. "Microsoft wants you to never play a game again on your PC and play everything on your 360," he went on to suggest, adding, "You give a PC gamer an incentive to buy a 360 if you put something that he really wants only on the 360."
But why would Microsoft want to lure customers away from one of their own platforms? Pachter made his case:
"You can't hook a guy into Xbox Live Gold if he's playing on PC. So, I mean, that's the other problem is you really wanna hook every gamer who has a 360, you want them to buy all their games on 360, play everything multiplayer, pay you 50 bucks a year so that in a couple years, it's 100 bucks a year. And that's going up -- we all know that."
It might sound crazy to actually raise the price of Xbox Live, especially when neither of Microsoft's competitors are currently charging for online play. Then again, Microsoft has attempted to add value to Gold memberships for years now by piling on exclusive features like Netflix streaming and, any day now, Facebook integration -- perhaps in anticipation of a price hike further down the line?

[Fiddy]

if i have to pay 100 bones or more to play online with my xbox, it will get sold and i will be a ps3 guy on that very day. period the end!!

[Brandwin]

Yeah, I don't want to pay $100 bucks. ::::rethinks the idea of selling his PS3::::

[pfunk880]

I'll believe it when I see it.

[Pappy Knuckles]

Might extend my account for like 3 years soon lol.

[bkfount]

This is why you don't want MS, Nintendo, or Sony having a stranglehold on the industry. They have all shown they turn into dicks.

MS is truly lucky to be in the position they are after the 360's numerous problems and Sony's blunders, but the ps3 slim is primed to take away a chunk of their business. MS is seriously overplaying their hand if this happened. I wouldn't pay $100 for Live, even if they switched to dedicated servers.

[Altimus]

Pacther is an idiot.

[ExtremeGamer]

It's not going to happen. There is way too much involved for them to raise it now. Maybe when a new console hits, but not on the 360.